Ramps and platforms are becoming increasingly common, due primarily to the recent passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requiring public buildings to be designed or modified to provide wheelchair access. These ramps and platforms assist those people confined to wheelchairs or who use walkers by providing a suitable pathway or ramp-way to the entrances of public and private buildings and stores, which may be at elevations above or below ground level.
Because each site may be generally different from other sites, some ramp and platform assemblies are modular in construction, and designed to minimize the cost and assembly time of on-site assembly. Ramp and platform assemblies generally include deck surfaces, support posts, and handrails. These modular assemblies can be configured to provide ramping and horizontal deck surfaces to provide access, for example, if a user needs to travel from elevation A to elevation B, but is not able to traverse stairs or a steep slope to get there.
Some ramp assemblies are portable and can be transported for use at various sites as decking surfaces, for example, if a user needs to travel from elevation A to elevation B, but is not able to traverse stairs.